The Time Traveler
by Scyphi
Summary: Matt gets visited by someone form the future...himself. Brought with him is news that will either bring about Cyberspace's salvation, or it's ultimate doom... Please Read and review!
1. Arrival

CYBERCHASE

THE TIME TRAVELER

1.

Arrival

Matt sat in his bedroom, reading the book, "Rakkety Tam". It was a Saturday, and Matt expected nothing special to happen today. No baseball games, no big events or celebrations, and, most importantly, no trips into Cyberspace.

So far as Matt knew, only three people knew of Cyberspace, and that was him, and his two friends, Jackie and Inez. They first met the very first time they were pulled into Cyberspace and sent on a continuing mission to protect the citizens of Cyberspace from it's arch nemesis, Hacker, also known as THE Hacker.

Hacker's main goal in life was to take total control of Cyberspace from it's rightful leader, Motherboard, a very wise and very nice supercomputer, and run the chaos rates in Cyberspace sky high. He had gotten frighteningly close to acheiveing that goal, so much so that he was in total control for a short period of time once. But, like always, Matt and his friends always outwitted him and saved the day.

But that didn't get rid of Hacker. He was still around, and would not go away unless Motherboard was cured of a computer virus she had gotten because of Hacker, or Hacker himself was gotten rid of. So far niether had happened. And it looked like that wouldn't change anytime soon, for the only thing that could delete Motherboard's computer virus, the Encryptor Chip, had been destroyed, sacrificed to defeat Hacker once.

Currently, however, things were going well in Cyberspace, for Hacker hadn't been up to his usual mischeif in a long period of time, and the citizens of Cyberspace, as well as Matt and his friends, were taking full advantage of it. Motherboard had given them all the opportunity to have fun and relax and told the Cybersquad to have a vacation. Part of it had already been spent in Cyberspace, and now the other part was to be spent in the Real World.

Only Matt had nothing to do. Not that he really mind, he just didn't expect to be sitting in his bedroom reading. It only happened because his original plans for that day fell through the floor, and he had no back-up plan, which he had mentally kicked himself for, because if there was anything to be learned from his adventures in Cyberspace, it was to have a back-up plan at all times.

Still, he was going to make the most of it. Or so he thought.

Matt was suddenly drawn away from his reading when he heard a soft beep ring out. At first he ignored it, but it beeped again. Setting his book aside and leaping off his bed, he looked around the room for the cause of the sound. Following the sound, he eventually came to the bottom drawer on his desk, which he kept only one thing in: his SKWAK pad, a walkie-talkie/drawing board device he had obtained in Cyberspace.

Pulling the device out, he saw that the SKWAK was recieving a message, and was emitting the beeping to alert Matt of it. He flicked a switch, and waited to hear the message.

All he got at first was static. The SKWAK's screen flickered several times, clearing just enough once or twice for Matt to see that the origin of the message was Control Central, the residence of Motherboard and the very center of Cyberspace. But Matt saw instantly that something wasn't right.

"Motherboard?" Matt asked into the SKWAK's speaker. "Digit? Is something wrong? Hello? Anybody there?"

At first he got nothing, then he began to hear several voices answer in responce. He got snippits of whole sentences, only a few words at a time, like "here", "there," "get," and, oddly enough, "Kryoxide", the name of a common coolant used in Cyberspace.

At one point, Matt thought he heard his friend's Digit's voice come out, saying Inez's name, but there was too much static to know for sure. Then, the static cleared just long enough for a single phrase to come through, completely unflawed.

"Get back here!"

It wasn't the phrase that alarmed Matt, it was who said it. The voice most definitely belonged to Hacker. Had he managed to break into Control Central?

"What's going on?" Matt asked into the speaker again, wishing he knew what was going on and how he could help.

The answer that came was very garbled, but the word "portal" told Matt all he knew. Motherboard or Digit, possibly even Dr. Marbles, was opening a portal to the Real World, most likely so Matt could come to Cyberspace to help.

Sure enough, there was a sudden swirl, then the reflective pink surface of a portal formed right beside him. Matt moved to jump through, but before he could, the portal shimmered then spat out a cloud of mist. Matt waved his hand through, and noted that the mist was very cold. Then something happened that had never happened before. The portal changed colors; from pink to a dark violet, almost purple.

Confused, Matt wondered if it was safe to jump through the portal afterall, when the light in his room blinked off, plunging the room into darkness, save for the light the portal emitted. Matt suddenly realized that the portal was not meant for him to come through Cyberspace, but for something to come from Cyberspace, to him.

This theory was proven true when a large dark shape of a person popped out of the portal, but it was too dark in the room to tell who it was. Matt rushed to the figure's side, in case aid was needed, trying to see who the person, laid spread-eagled and unmoving on his bedroom floor.

The Portal suddenly wavered, spat out some more mist, then collasped in upon itself and vanished in a brief flare of light. Several seconds went past with Matt sitting in the dark, with tons of questions running through his head, when power was restored to his bedroom light, allowing Matt to get a good look at the figure before him.

Suddenly a new flood of questions rushed through him as Matt relaized just who it was that was now picking himself up off the floor. He was very dirty, and his clothes were somewhat tattered and wrinkled, and his hair had been quite ruffled. He also seemed to be about a year older than Matt was. But there was no doubt about it. The figure that now stood before Matt was himself...

Matt's double looked around at his surroundings, then at a calender hung over Matt's bed, then right at Matt himself. He grinned.

"It worked." he said.


	2. Questions

Author's notes: (Because I forgot to do it last chapter) Okay, I'm new, so this is my first Fan fic here on this site and this particular category, but I've written Fan fics before and gotten good results elsewere in the worldwide web, so hopefully it will be the same here. Please read it and let me know if it's any good.

Note: I do not own Cyberchase (but you probably already knew that) otherwise this would've been turned into an epsiode about two years ago, when I first came up with the idea.

2.

Questions

Inez stared dumbfounded at the sight before her, at a loss for words.

Digit, a simple-minded cybird, was the one who summed it up best. "Two Matts?" he asked, bewildered.

Both Matts, one clean and the other very dirty, nodded in responce at the same time. They too, seemed a little wierded out by what was happening.

Jackie marched right up to them, studying both intently. "Which one of you is OUR Matt?" she asked.

The dirtier of the two pointed to the cleaner Matt, while the cleaner Matt merely shrugged, as if he didn't know what to think anymore.

The African-American girl gave them one last looking over, then turned around to face a large computer screen. "Any ideas what's going on, Mother B?" Jackie asked.

Even the computer generated face of Motherboard seemed puzzled. "None." she answered.

Inez looked at one Matt, then the other. "Will someone please explain what's going on?" she asked, speaking for the first time since getting called into Cyberspace, supposedly at Matt's request, whichever one that was.

The dirty Matt looked to his cleaner double. "You start." he said.

"Umm, okay." the clean Matt answered. "All I know is that I was sitting in my room reading when my SKWAK beeped, indicating an incoming message. All I got from it was a lot of garbled phrases, and indication that Hacker was attacking Control Central, which obvously isn't the case." he added, looking around at the clean and organized control room. "Then a portal formed in my room, spat out a lot of cold mist, then changed to violet in color, then spat him out." he guestured to his double. "He said something had worked, then asked me to contact Cyberspace. I did, asked Motherboard to open us portal there, then asked to get the rest of the squad here, and well, here we are."

"So you're the real Matt, then." Jackie asked.

"I guess." the clean Matt answered. "Personally, I don't know what to think at this point."

"You're telling me, Mattie." Digit answered, clutching his head. "My mind hurts just thinking about this."

"Okay, so if your our Matt," Inez beagn, pointing to the Matt in question, "Then who's this?" she pointed at the other Matt.

"You're smart, Inez, don't tell me you don't have a theory." the dirtier Matt answered.

Inez gave him an odd look. "My first thought was that you might be a clone of some sort, possibly sent here by Hacker. But then I got the impression that you're almost as puzzled about this as we are."

"Not really puzzled, but rather...unused...to being in this situation." the dirtier Matt answered. He looked sympathetically at his double. "I'm just as weirded out at seeing another of me as you are, even though I knew what I was getting myself into."

"You mean you planned this?" Motherboard asked.

"Very much so." said Matt's double, then challenged, "You guys have any ideas why?"

"Um, why can't you just tell us?" Jackie asked.

"I'm having fun." Matt's double answered. "Besides, where I come from, it's been awhile since I've seen us all sit down and think things out. Here, I'll throw in a hint. The mist my double spoke of is Kryoxide, and it was there on purpose."

"What difference does that make?" Jackie asked, and opened her mouth to say more, but Inez cut her off.

"You seriously didn't try that, did you?" Inez asked, surprised. She seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"Yes, I did, and it worked fine, albeit the trip was really cold, but..." Matt's double answered.

The other Matt's face was showing sudden comprehension. "Whoa!" he said, at a loss to say anything further.

"Did I miss something?" Jackie asked. "'Cause I'm totally lost."

"Oh, right, explanations." Inez said, looking apologetic. "Two days ago, while you were in Solaria, Jackie, Matt asked aloud if time travel was possible. You know, just a random thought. Being curious about it, we both asked Dr. Marbles about it later that same day. He said that he had a theory that introducing a large amount of Kryoxide to an open portal might slow travel time so much so that you went back in time, but he never tried it, fearing that it might not work right."

"How so?" Digit asked, despite himself.

"I didn't understand EXACTLY what he said, but basically he was saying that there was a risk of things blowing up." Matt answered.

"What does that have to do with this?" Jackie asked, guestureing to Matt's double.

"Everything!" Matt exclaimed, "Don't you see? This guy is from the future!"

All eyes turned to Matt's double, looking for a confirmation at this revelation.

He glanced around nervously. "It's not like there was a choice!" He finally said. "I HAD to get here!"

"You mean you're really from the future?" Jackie questioned, her eyes widening.

"It was a big risk, I know." the time traveler answered. "But things in the future...aren't good."

Motherboard sensed there was more to that. "What happened?" she asked calmly.

The time traveler sighed. "There are two Encryptor chips." he said.


	3. Explanations

Note: Things get a little dark here, (although not quite as dark as it will get a couple chapters from now) but you've been forwarned.

3.

Explanations

"TWO Encryptor chips?" Digit asked. "That can't be. We're all sure there was only the one, the one we sacrificed in order to save Motherboard. It's long gone now."

"And it is." The time traveler answered. "But that one was not the one Dr. Archemedes made, the one you had been searching for up until that point. Didn't any of you guys notice that certain Encryptor chip was a different color?"

Almost sheepishly, the other Matt raised his hand.

"Well, of course you did." Future Matt said, realizing he should've known that already. "But I know why you didn't bring it up. Because you, er, we, thought it was the result of exposure to the weather and stuff like that, and didn't think anymore of it. That wasn't the case. It was a completely different chip altogether."

"How can you be sure?" Inez asked.

"Easy. Dr. Marbles had found clues that indicated that it existed. But he never got the chance to prove it was true after Dr. Archemedes made the second one. There never seemed to be a need." Future Matt answered.

"How do you know this?" Jackie asked.

"Dr. Marbles told me, approximately four days from now." the time traveler answered. "That was after we found out that there were two in Cyberspace."

"How DID you find out there were two?" Digit asked.

The time traveler reached into his pack and pulled out a device. "With this." he said, holding it out for the group to see. "Dr. Marbles invented it, and in this point in time, it's over three-fourths done. He won't get to first use it until two days from now. But, it's designed to scan the immediate area of Cyberspace, and to track down anything that might be used to help Motherboard fight her computer virus." he handed it to Digit to examine. "Marbles expected to find temporary cures, like the Electro-Root. Instead, he found a whole Encryptor chip. But that wasn't the only thing he found."

"What was it?" Matt asked, taking the device to examine from Digit.

"He found Cyantis." the time traveler said.

The other earthlings didn't know what that meant, but Motherboard and Digit did, for they both looked at the time traveler in surprise.

"The lost cybersite, Cyantis?" Digit asked, bewildered.

"What is it, Mother B?" Jackie asked.

"The former home of the Founders of Cyberspace." Motherboard answered. "Thought lost for untold generations."

"So long that nearly everyone in Cyberspace thought it was nothing more than an old fairy tale." Digit explained further. "It was built by the same people who made Cyberspace what it is today, the Founders of Cyberspace they were called. They were said to know eveything about Cyberspace, and had the ability of creating whole cybersites. They eventually found a way to travel to other cybergalaxies, and left saying they'd come back one day, but they never did. Cyantis was left locked down and hidden when they left, and only the Founders could undo that. Without them, the city eventually became lost."

"Not in the future." the time traveler said. "It's been uncovered and unlocked. Everyone had access to it now. Unfortunately, most of the knowledge and technology that had been left in Cyantis got destroyed over time. However that wasn't what we were looking for. An Encryptor chip was in there, although how and when it got there, is unknown."

"So, Dr. Marbles went in and got it?" Jackie asked.

"No." the time traveler said, shaking his head. "Remember, the city was still hidden, disguised to look like worthless cyberjunk all packed together haphazardly. He didn't know the site was there, but he knew the Encryptor chip was there. But, the city also had a shield too, composed of large amounts of Magnitite. Marbles saw this, and, not wanting to risk getting exposed too much to it, he went back to Control Central and sent the people he knew were immune to the substance to get the chip."

"Me and the earthlings." Digit guessed correctly.

"Right." Future Matt answered. "We managed to slip through the cloak and the shield and deactivated both of them. Then, with that out of the way, we searched the site up and down for the Encryptor chip. But...we didn't find it."

"What? Why not?" Inez asked, surprised.

"Hacker had beaten us to the chip." the time traveler answered. "Somehow he figured out it was there and got it before we did. We found evidence they had been there in Cyantis, and later, he called Control Central up and said that unless we gave him what he wanted, he was going to dispose of the Encryptor chip forever."

"Seeing no other choice, we obeyed, and met at the meeting place he had chosen, a black hole out past Sensible Flats, bordering on the Northern Frontier. We gave what Hacker wanted, access to anywhere he wanted in Cyberspace. But Hacker tricked us, took that access, then threw the Encryptor chip into the black hole, to be lost forever, then high-tailed it out of there."

"We chased after him for over a week, before he simply vanished. Knowing he'd be back, we went to Control Central to prepare for the inevitable attack. However, he tricked us again, because by having that access we granted him, he could get into Control Central no matter what we did. He took us by surprise. We resisted, but things went totally wrong from that point on. Hacker gave Motehrboard a double dose of that computer virus, reduceing her into a corrupted mess well beyond recovery. He captured Dr. Marbles, Digit, everyone, except me. I managed to escape through a closing portal to the Real World, and even then, I almost didn't make it."

"So, wait, you, er, we, left the others behind?" the other Matt interrupted.

"There was no choice." Matt's double answered, turning to face him. "We had no chance of defeating Hacker now, we'd only get caught too. Besides, Digit told me to get out of Cyberspace, to save myself. There was nothing more I could do."

A moment of silence hung over the room before the time travler continued with his story of the future.

"Almost an entire year passed before I got any word from Cyberspace. I wanted to return to see what had happened, if it was still okay, but I didn't dare risk contacting anybody looking for a means to Cyberspace, for I knew and feared Hacker could trace me down and catch me too, so much so I destroyed anything that had any connections to Cyberspace, including my SKWAK pad. By that point, I had convinced myself that I would never see Cyberspace nor my friends ever again."

"But I was proven wrong. Digit eventually figured out a way to keep in contact with me without Hacker noticing, and together we worked to try to find a way to save Cyberspace. But no matter what we planned, it was clear that nothing would be the same again, unless we could somehow rewrite time so that WE found the Encryptor chip before Hacker did."

"So that became our goal. Digit set things up to do it, and after another month, we were ready. It was a big risk, but as we already know, it worked, and that what was important." the time traveler paused in his narritive, looking around at his listeners. "I would've brought more help, in fact, Digit was to come along as well, but Hacker caught us in the mist of pulling off the plan. Digit held Hacker off, buying time for me to escape with what I had, which was only myself, my pack, and what I wore. The rest I left behind. Hopefully it won't matter, though, for I plan on setting things straight."

"So in other words, you plan on changing the future." Inez asked. "Isn't that a big risk?"

"It is, but the possible outcomes of it are well worth it." Future Matt answered. "Which would you rather have, a Cyberspace in which Hacker and chaos rules, or the chance to make Cyberspace a peaceful, Hacker-free, place?"

"We get the point." Jackie said. "Just tell us everything we need to know. For example, tell us when we need to go."

"As soon as possible." the time traveler answered.

"Why?" Digit asked. "When does Hacker get the chip?"

"That's the problem." The time traveler answered, "We never found out."


	4. Discovery

4.

Discovery

The Grim Wreaker hummed silently along the known borders Cyberspace. Onboard, Buzz and Delete were hard at work in the ship's kitchen, making a large batch of their favorite donuts.

"Add one egg or two, Buzzy?" Delete asked, clasping an egg in one hand, ready to break it.

His shorter companion shook his head, looking up from their recipe book. "Neither DeeDee, you add four eggs. We're making a double batch."

Delete was hesitant. "I dunno, Buzzy, remember what happened last time we made a double batch?"

"No." Buzz replied arrogantly, adding some sugar into their mixing bowl.

"Well I do." Delete said. "Last time it all blew out of the mixer, splattering all over the kitchen. The boss had us cleaning for weeks."

"That won't happen this time, DeeDee," Buzz assured him, "I know exactly what to do to prevent that."

"All right then, four eggs coming up." Delete said, trusting Buzz completely.

What Delete didn't know was that Buzz had no idea why what happened last time they made a double batch even happened, much less how to prevent it. Still, having his pride to uphold, he didn't say anything, and Delete, always ready to take someone at their word, didn't think another thing of it. Neither noticed that their batter was far too big to fit in the mixer.

Elsewhere on the ship, in the Wreaker's control room, Hacker sat in his recharger chair, thinking hard. It was becoming very difficult to come up with new plans to conquer Cyberspace, having all but exhausted his well of ideas, so he needed as much brain power as he could get.

He had skimmed through the Wreaker's library twice already, looking for something he could find or make that would give him the advantage once again. With the Encryptor chip gone, he had to find something else to hunt for that would give him what he wanted.

Only it seemed he had found it all already, only to have it taken away, destroyed, or stopped by those pesky earth brats that seemed to be constantly haunting him. He almost didn't know where to go from here. He had talking to consultants and others, to try and get inspiration or instruction, but never succeeded.

He sat there thinking even harder until his rechargeing was complete. He still had no ideas.

"Food." he murmured to himself, glancing at the clock. "That's what I need, food. Can't think on an empty stomach, and it's well past lunchtime."

He thumbed a switch next to a microphone. "Buzz, Delete, it's lunchtime. Have something ready for me to eat by the time I come down there." he ordered, then cut off the transmission before he could get an answer.

He was The Hacker, after all. He always got what he wanted. No matter what.

Back at the kitchen, Buzz and Delete waited outside the kitchen door with a tray laidened with food in hand. They were covered in flour, from head to toe, and were grinning guiltily.

Hacker instantly saw something was wrong that they didn't want him to know about as he walked down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Here Boss." Buzz said, holding out the tray as Hacker strolled up.

"Got lots of yummy food for you to eat." Delete said, cheerfully, "Enjoy!"

Hacker glanced at the tray. "I wanted to eat in the kitchen." he told his henchmen.

The two robots glanced at each other. "But...uh...You're The Hacker, Boss." Buzz quickly began saying, "Future ruler of Cyberspace. You deserve to eat in far better places than the kitchen."

Hacker folded his arms. "And where exactly might that be?" he asked.

"Uh, we don't know." Delete answered, getting a look from Buzz, "But that's why we put it all on a tray, so you could take it to the place you choose."

"Well, I choose the kitchen, if you don't mind." Hacker said, taking the tray and moving to open the kitchen door.

Buzz and Delete held it closed. "We insist Boss, consider this your chance to eat wherever you want. Take it up to the observatory where you can see all of Cyberspace rush by at your fingertips." Buzz suggested.

Hacker pretended to think that through. "You know what, Buzz, I think that has been your best idea all week." he said. "I think I will do that."

He took the tray and made to leave, with Buzz and Delete quickly high-fiving each other while Hacker's back was turned, but Hacker quickly turned around and came back.

"While I'm here, better get some wig gel out of the storeroom." he said, again going to open the kitchen door.

Buzz and Delete quickly gave each other a tense look. "uh, don't worry, Boss, uh, we'll get it!" Delete said, opening the door just far enough to slip behind it. Buzz started to follow.

"I'll get my own wig gel, thank you, Delete." Hacker said, trying to force the door open. Delete held it closed on the other side.

"Uh, really, Boss, don't worry about it. We'll get it for you." Buzz insisted, looking worried.

"If I say I'll get it myself, I most definitely will!" Hacker exclaimed. "Now stand aside!"

He flung the door open, pinning Delete between it and the wall, and strode inside. He didn't get farther than a foot when he slipped and fell on the donut batter that was strung all over the kitchen. Quickly jumping up and regaining his composure, he swung around to face his clumsy henchmen and opened his mouth to start yelling at them.

Only he never got that far.

The Wreaker suddenly jerked to a halt, throwing all three to the floor.

"What was that?" Delete asked, picking himself up.

Hacker was already up and was running down the hall. "Let's find out, shall we?" he asked, leading the way to the control room.

By the time they got there, the ship had already made a report and had it displayed on a computer screen. Hacker sat down and scanned it. Buzz and Delete tried to read over his shoulder.

"What happened, Boss?" Buzz asked.

"We ran into something." Hacker replied bluntly. "Looks like some kind of beacon. It's transmitting something."

A new set of text appeared on the screen. Hacker scrolled through it. Slowly, a smile spread upon his face.

His henchmen saw it. "What is it, Boss?" Delete asked, curious.

"This beacon was left behind by the Founders of Cyberspace." Hacker explained happily, the plan that had been evading him now coming to mind, "And can you guess what's in it's computer core?"

The two robots thought for a moment before shaking their heads no.

"The location of the lost cybersite of Cyantis." Hacker replied joyously. "Oh, it's going to be a good day after all!"

"Why Boss?" Buzz asked.

"Don't you see? Cyantis contains all of the secrets of the Founders. With their knowledge and technology at my hands, I'll be unstoppable!"

Hacker let out a cruel laugh. Yes, he did always get what he wanted.

No matter what.


	5. Secrets

5.

Secrets

"Let's see, have we got everything?" Digit asked, loading the a box onto the Cybercoop, the Cybersquad's second mode of transportation, the first being by portal. "Did we get the grappling hooks, Jax?"

Jackie looked up from a check list. "Yes, Digit, you put those in first."

"The rope?"

"Got it."

"SKWAK Pads?"

"Got 'em."

"Future Mattie said there might be digging to do. Did we get shovels?"

"Yep."

"Hmm, I know I'm forgetting something..." Digit said, tapping his beak with one wing.

Inez ran in. "How about a map?" she asked, holding up enough maps for eveyone. "Motherboard used the time travler's description of Cynatis to put them together."

Digit took the maps and looked them over. "Oh yeah, we need maps, but that wasn't what I forgot..."

Matt leaned against one wall, fiddling with his yo-yo. "Well, when you figure it out Didge, we'll be ready to go, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, but not before." Digit answered distractedly,"What WAS it that I forgot?"

"We better get ready to go, then." Inez said. "Where's your double, Matt?"

Matt straightened and put his yo-yo away. "Out on the balcony. Dunno what he's doing."

"He's probably remembering times past, when things were better in his time." Jackie pointed out. "Remember, in his future, things aren't going too good for Cyberspace."

"We shouldn't disturb him then." Inez said, "He probably wants to be left alone."

"But we can't, we're going to leave soon." Jackie pointed out. "We can't do this without him. He knows exactly where to look."

Matt started walking out of the room. "I'll go get him." he said decisively.

"You sure, Matt?" Inez asked.

"Well, he IS me, so why not?" Matt asked, then exited the room.

The time traveler was exactly where Matt said he was; on the balcony. Matt saw that his double was using a yo-yo as well, and knew that Jackie was right. He was thinking, and it was mostly likely about the past, or in this case, Matt's future.

From afar, Matt watched his double let go of the yo-yo, let it fall off the edge of the balcony, watched it dangle in the emptiness that was Cyberspace, then let it zip back up into his hand. The time travler had a very vacant expression on his face.

Unsure how to begin, Matt walked up to stand next to the time traveler. "Hey." he said.

"Hey." Future Matt answered, not looking up.

"We're almost ready to go." Matt said. "Got everything we might need, even a simple map that Motherboard put together. Digit swears he's forgetting something though."

"Snacks." the other Matt answered bluntly. "That's what he forgot last time."

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you'd know things like that." Matt said. "Man, is this ever weird. I've talked to myself before, but never to this extreme."

Future Matt laughed. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing." he said, then added, "Go figure."

This time Matt laughed. "There may be a year's difference between us two, but we're really still the same." he noted.

"Almost." the time traveler corrected. "I know things you don't. I had things you didn't. I've seen things you haven't." he hesitated, his expression going vacant again. "I've lost things you haven't."

"Like the Encryptor chip." Matt provided with an example.

"That among other things." Future Matt answered.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

The other Matt sighed. "There's something I haven't told you." he admitted.

"What?" Matt asked, surprised. "Why?"

The time traveler didn't answer at first. He was remembering the event, picture perfect...

_"We're here, Hacker." Matt announced as he and the Cybersquad exited the Cybercoop at the Black Hole Hacker had chosen to meet at._

_"Welcome kiddies." Hacker said in a taunting voice. "Don't come to close now. You wouldn't want the big bad Black Hole to suck up your precious Encryptor chip, do you?"_

_He snapped his fingers. Buzz and Delete, standing nearby, handed Hacker a box. The villain opened it and pulled out Dr. Archimedes's version of the Encryptor chip, found after being missing for all this time. Hacker dangled it dangerously close to the threshold of the swirling mass of dark energy._

_"Don't do it, Hacker!" Jackie shouted. "We've got what you want."_

_Hacker turned to her and grinned. "The access card to all of Cyberspace?" he asked, devilishly._

_The Cybersquad all nodded, ready to act if something should go wrong._

_Hacker eyed them for several moments. "Show me." he ordered._

_Digit walked forward, stopping in the middle of the platform that hung in front of the Black Hole. In his wings he carried wooden box, polished so it shone brightly and prettily._

_The beauty was wasted on Hacker, he quickly motioned Buzz and Delete to go over to take the box. He was obviously expecting a trap, and wasn't going to risk getting caught in it. Digit hesitantly handed the box to Hacker's robotic henchmen. Delete held the box while Buzz opened it and peered inside._

_"Is it real?" Hacker demanded, striding over._

_Without waiting for an answer, he reached into the box, and pulled out the access key, small enough to fit in Hacker's palm, and yet opened up one of the biggest window of opportunities that Hacker had ever come across. He studied the circuitry embedded in the key, gleaming in the dim light._

_"Everything seems to be in order." he said, happily. "No flaws in this key, and it's definitely real."_

_"We've held up our end of the bargain, Hacker," Inez said, as she and the others marched up to join Digit, "Now hold up your end. Give us the Encryptor chip." She noticed out of the corner of her eye, that Buzz was slipping away from the group and was heading back towards to the Black Hole._

_Hacker grinned at them wickedly for a few moments. "I don't think so." he said, turning around, taking both the key and the Encryptor chip with him, "Now Buzz."_

_"Look out!" Inez suddenly shouted, as Buzz pulled a concealed lever._

_The floor immediately under the Cybersquad opened up leading nowhere expect out into the depths of Cyberspace. Inez quickly leap to one side, shoving Matt out of the way at the same time. They both skidded onto solid ground, skidding towards the Black Hole where Hacker and his gang stood. Jackie twisted around as the floor vanished from under her and managed to grab a portion of solid floor behind her, stopping her fall. Digit threw the box to one side and took to the air, twirling his tail feathers like a helicopter._

_Hacker ran for the Black Hole, ready to throw the Encryptor chip into it. Digit gave a mad yell and zoomed forward, grabbing the edge of Hacker's cape and tugging. The cybervillan's feet slipped out from under him and toppled over backwards, the Encryptor chip flying out of his hands. Buzz and Delete ran to grab it, but slammed into each other and missed. The chip toppled to the ground._

_Matt made an attempt to grab it, but Hacker yanked Digit off his cape and shoved Matt to one side. Grabbing the chip, he leaned back and threw it towards the Black Hole. It zoomed over Inez's head as she ran to intercept it. The Encryptor chip sailed into the Black Hole. Inez did not hesitate to dive after it._

_Matt gave a yell and ran forward to grab Inez's feet..._

_...but ended up grabbing nothing but empty air._

_Toppling to the floor, Matt skidded to a halt at the edge of the Black Hole, unable to do nothing but to watch in horror as Inez and the Encryptor chip tumbled deep into the Black Hole._

_Hacker gave a mad laugh, grabbing a rope that had been dropped from the Grim Wreaker hanging overhead. "You should've learned by now that I'll always get the last laugh!" he cheered as he, Delete, and Buzz grabbed hold of the rope and were pulled aboard their ship. "So long kiddies, and may it be for the last time!"_

_The Wreaker gave a lurch then zoomed away. Jackie stood stunned by the Cybercoop. Digit sat at the edge of the hole in the floor, straightening his bent beak. Matt lay where he was, trying to see Inez and the Encryptor chip one last time, but they were already gone..._

The time traveler fell silent after telling his untold portion of the story. The other Matt stood nearby, shocked into silence. Neither knew how long they had stood there.

A low beeping suddenly rang out. It was Matt's SKWAK pad. Numbly, he pulled it out and switched it on.

"Yes?" he managed to choke out.

"We're ready to go now, Matt." Jackie's voice announced, "Digit remembered he had forgotten snacks."

"Okay." Matt answered, "We'll be there momentarily."

Jackie sensed something was wrong. "Are you okay Matt?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Matt answered, not able to bring himself to tell Jackie what he had just been told. "Matt out."

He switched off the SKWAK and turned to the time traveler, knowing he had heard.

Matt had only one question to ask first. "Why didn't you tell me or anyone this before now?" he asked.

Future Matt turned to face his double. "Would you have?" he asked rhetorically.

The other Matt didn't answer.

"The last thing I heard Digit say just before I jumped into the portal to come to this time was to save Inez." The time traveler continued. "I plan to do just that. You can be sure of it."


	6. Cyantis

Note: Things jump around alot in this chap, and hopefully I've figured out a way to keep people from getting confused. If it doesn't work, let me know.

6.

Cyantis

The Grim Wreaker zipped past Cybersite Poddleville at maximum speed. It's presence at the site alerted the Poddles in Poddleville, but relaxed after the herald of chaos rushed on past. Little did they know that the ship was on a course to inflict even more chaos than usual...

Buzz and Delete watched thier boss sent a course into the auto-pilot, curious where this lost cybersite had been for all this time. They were surprised at what they saw.

"But boss, there's nothing there but worthless cyberjunk." Buzz objected.

"That's the beauty of it." Hacker said admiringly. "That was how the site remained hidden from plain view for so long. The Founders disguised it to look like it's surroundings."

"But how, boss?" Delete asked, puzzled, as usual.

"That's what we're going to find out, Delete." Hacker stated. "And we'll know that in a matter of minutes. Then I'll have everything finally well within my reach..."

oooo

Jackie looked at the two Matts sitting on the opposite side of the Cybercoop from her. Both looked very depressed, one more than the other. She noticed that the future Matt was dealing with his depression better than the other Matt, but Jackie was still worried.

"What are you thinking about, Jackie?" Digit asked, who was driving.

"Those two." Jackie answered quietly, pointing to the two Matts. "Haven't you noticed that their both behaving differently?"

Digit studied them for a moment. "You're right." he said. "They seem sad about something."

"Yes, but what about?" Jackie wondered out loud. "You'd expect it from the time traveler, because he's been through a lot. But what about our Matt? Does he know something we don't?"

"If he did, he'd tell us if it was important." Digit pointed out. "It probably has nothing to do with this mission though."

"I'm not so sure, Didge." Jackie said. "Matt was on that balcony with the time traveler for a very long time. Future Matt might have said something about the future to our Matt."

"But what?" Digit asked. "And what could make both of them look so down in the dumps?"

"Something bad." Jackie realized. "Maybe that's why Matt won't say what it is. It's TOO bad."

Digit thought through that for a long time. "Do you think we should be on our guard then in case that something bad does happen?" he asked.

"I don't know." Jackie admitted, "But it couldn't hurt."

Something on the console beeped. "We're approaching Cynatis, guys." Inez announced from a console in the rear of the ship. "Coming up on the Magnitite shield."

oooo

"Magnitite?" Hacker repeated, suddenly getting second thoughts about this expedition.

"That's right boss, large amounts of Magnitite are all around that location." Delete said, reading a display carefully.

"You wanna try something else, boss?" Buzz asked, looking for orders.

For a moment, Hacker was going to say yes, knowing all too well what Magnitite could do, but then he saw something out of the corner of his eye outside. Quickly, he looked around elsewhere outside.

"There!" Hacker said, gripping the Wreaker's controls. "We're going to hide behind that large piece of junk until it's safe to go on."

"How do you know it will get safe?" Buzz asked, not catching on.

"Because of that." Hacker answered. He pointed outside at the Cybercoop approaching Cynatis's shields, unaware Hacker was nearby.

"Who needs to do all that hard work of figuring out how to get to Cyantis when those Earth brats can do it all for us, hmm?" Hacker said, glad he was such a genius.

oooo

"We're getting pretty close to that shield." Digit observed, getting a little antsy. "Since we're either Earthling or immune to Magnitite, the stuff won't hurt us, but I can't say the same about the Cybercoop."

"Don't worry," Future Matt assured him, watching a rather large clump of cyberjunk come closer, "We won't be exposed to it for long. Just watch closely."

The Cybersquad obeyed. All they saw at first was random cyberjunk. Then the Cybercoop piereced what appeared to be a large, invisible, bubble, forming ripples on seemingly nothing. Then the cyberjunk disappeared and was replaced with a sprawling metropolis cybersite, the likes of which not even Digit had seen.

"Welcome to Cyantis." The time traveler said, grinning in success.

"What just happened?" Inez asked, looking amazed and puzzled at the same time.

"The rippling you saw was us passing through the cloak." Future Matt explained. "The shield was just behind that. By now, however, we should be well pass both."

Digit double checked. "You're right, the Magnitite levels have dropped back to zero." he said. "Where to from here?"

"There." Future Matt said, pointing to a small building on the outskirts of the cybersite. "That's a kind of security building. From there we can shut off the cloak and shield."

"Why bother?" Matt asked. "We got through okay."

"Digit wasn't exaggerating when he said that the Cybercoop would get damaged by the Magnitite." the time traveler answered. "This way we can avoid it altogether, and it will allow others to get here with ease. And with the cloak off, it's a bit easier to find, don't you think?"

Digit set the Cybercoop down next to the building in question. In it was a simple room, just barely big enough for all of them, and was only equipped with a mere screen and a keyboard. Jackie walked right up to the screen and studied it.

"It's in a different language." she observed with dismay. "Anybody here read Founder-ese?"

"It's just a code." Future Matt said. "All we need to do is translate it, and then we can solve the security password."

"Why can't you just enter it in?" Matt asked. "You've gotten in here once before, so you must know it."

"It's not that easy." Future Matt said, pulling off his pack and rooting through it. "The code changes every hour or so. The odds of it being the same one as the time I got through are very slim. Besides, I can't remember the password anyway. It was a year ago for me, remember?" he added upon the look he got from Inez. "Lucky for us, we've got this."

He pulled out of his pack what at first looked like a SKWAK pad, but upon examining it further, it was clear that, while it was still a SKWAK pad, it was heavily modified.

"Digit put this together before I arrived in this time just for this purpose." the time traveler explained, copying the foreign letters into the pad. "It has an increased memory bank, so it could contain all of the knowledge he could fit in it about the Founders of Cyberspace and Cyantis as possible. This includes their language. There."

He pressed a button, and the obscure text was immediately translated into English.

"'Can't roll or cent?'" Digit read off the screen. "What does that mean?"

"It's the code." Future Matt explained. "You unshuffle the letters and you get the password. Last time the password was a real thing, so that's probably the case now."

"Can't roll or cent." Jackie repeated, starting to pace, thinking.

"Note that there's no apostrophe in 'can't'" Inez pointed out to the others. "That must be a clue or something."

"Cant roll or cent." Jackie said to herself, still pacing.

"Try slurring the words together." the time traveler suggested after a moment of thinking.

"Cantrollorcent." Jackie said rapidly, turning around to pace the other way, "Cantroll orcent. Cantroll, cantroll, cantrol? No, control! Part of it is control!"

Inez jotted that down on her SKWAK pad, crossing out the letters from the cryptic phrase. "That just leaves a, t, l, r, c, e, and an n. What does that spell?"

"I have an idea." Matt said. "I think the word 'cent' is part of a bigger word. Let's try adding the other letters to that."

Inez worked out a few possibilities on her SKWAK. "I've got it!" she shouted after a moment. "it's central!"

"Control Central!" Jackie shouted, "That's the password!"

The time traveler typed that in with the keyboard. A moment later, the shield and cloak surrounding the site shut off.

oooo

A rather large piece of cyberjunk began to shimmer, then transformed into a whole cybersite, making Buzz and Delete, who were watching intently, to gasp.

Hacker let out a laugh. "What did I tell you, boys?" he asked, gunning the Wreaker's engines. "Why not let them do the dirty work? Now we're free to get into Cyantis!"

Buzz and Delete looked out a window as Hacker brought the ship towards Cyantis. "What are you going to do now boss?" Buzz asked. "Drop in on the Earthlings and grab 'em?"

"No." Hacker said, "We'll land on the other side of the site and work inward. Eventually we'll meet up with the kiddies somewhere in the middle of the site, nowhere near any help. THEN we'll take them prisoner!"

The whole group laughed wickedly, in full support of that plan...


	7. Found

Note: More jumping around in this chapter too. This should be the last of it, though.

7.

Found

Moving inward from the building, the Cybersquad ventured across the cybersite, noting everything about their surroundings.

"Look at this architecture!" Inez was saying. "Some of these buildings far excel the designs of even some of the most amazing buildings in Cyberspace!"

"They probably looked even better intact." the time traveler noted, eyeing one building that had collapsed at one time.

"Even though everything is in ruins, it's still quite a sight to see." Digit said, looking back and forth at the ruins.

Matt studied a control panel that was overrun with dust. "None of the technology survived though." he said, "just look at the state this thing is in."

Jackie kicked at the dusty ground. "I hope this doesn't take too long." she said, looking around wearily. "I don't like the look of things here."

"What's the matter, Jackie, too dirty for you?" Digit taunted, making fun of Jackie's obsession of being clean.

"It's not that Didge, it's something else." Jackie said, "I don't know what it is."

Matt touched the only standing wall of a building they were passing. It crumbled under his touch. "Maybe you're afraid that something's going to fall on you. These buildings can't be safe to enter anymore."

"We won't need to enter any buildings." Future Matt assured the others, "The Encryptor ship is outside, and the only building we entered back in my time was the Cyantis library, at Inez's insistence. That turned out to be pointless, for all of the material in there was saved to hard drives, and they were long gone by the time we reached them."

"So what can the cyberworld learn from this place?" the other Matt asked.

"History, lots of it." Future Matt answered. "Even Hacker had taken an interest in it, for he was having people going in here to learn all they can about the subject when I left for this time." he paused long enough for the group to all climb over a fallen support beam. "Besides, no one really knows all that much about the Founders of Cyberspace, and even with Cyantis in the condition that it is, there's a lot to be learned from the place."

"But all of the technology and the knowledge stored on that technology is long gone, right?" Jackie asked, just to be sure.

"Except for the Encryptor chip, yes." the time traveler answered. "All the other technology had long corroded into a rusty mess."

oooo

On the other side of the cybersite, Hacker and his henchmen had noted the same thing.

Buzz and Delete cowered behind Hacker, knowing their boss was far from happy at the moment.

"Don't worry, Boss, you couldn't have known." Delete crooned, trying to get the villain to cool down.

"Yeah, Boss, who knew that even technology of the Founders of Cyberspace wouldn't last forever?" Buzz piped in.

Hacker grumbled something in incoherently and kicked at a can-like object.

"Besides, there's still the Earth kids, Boss, they're still here." Buzz continued.

Hacker suddenly looked up. He had forgotten that. "You're right, Buzz, we can still get them."

"And they might have something we missed Boss," Delete added, "Something you can use to rule Cyberspace with!"

"Yes!" Hacker said, with renewed vigor. "Let's go!"

And he lead the way down the remains of a road, with Buzz and Delete trailing in his wake.

oooo

"There it is!" Future Matt exclaimed, pointing directly ahead of them, holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes.

The others gathered around him, looking in the direction he was pointing. He pointed at a round building with it's roof caved in, as well as one or two of it's walls.

Inez was confused, "I thought you said it was located outside." she said to the time traveler.

"Well, technically it is." the time traveler answered, handing her the binoculars. "Here, take a look through these at that caved in wall in the center. See it?"

"I see the wall." Inez replied simply, peering through the binoculars in the instructed direction.

"Look just past that wall." Future Matt instructed. "The Encryptor chip is in the middle of the building in the very center on a small podium."

"I still can't see it." Inez admitted.

"Here, let me try." Digit said, taking the binoculars. After a moment of searching, he said, "I think I can see it. It's hard to tell from this distance."

"How about we get closer then?" Future Matt asked, leading the way to the building.

The rest of the Cybersquad followed except for Digit, who used the opportunity to look around at other ruins with the binoculars before racing after them. He failed to catch sight of the three figures standing on a hill opposite from the building...

oooo

"There they are!" Hacker exclaimed, pointing at the distant figures. "They're heading towards that building!"

"We're closer, Boss, we can beat them there!" Buzz pointed out.

Needing no further prompting, the three raced down the hill and towards the building.

"Dunno why they would be coming here, of all places." Buzz said aloud, looking at the crumbling building as they entered it. "There isn't much left of it."

"Maybe their just sight-seeing." Delete suggested, looking around. "Or maybe-OOF!"

He hadn't noticed Hacker stopping dead in his tracks and ran into the cyborg's back.

"Sorry Boss!" Delete quickly apologized, while Buzz helped him up. "I didn't see you stop! Please don't yell at me!"

But Hacker wasn't listening. He was staring straight ahead of them, at a small object sitting on top of a round podium...

oooo

The Cybersquad walked around a crumbling wall and stepped onto the tile that once served as a floor when the building was intact.

"There!" Future Matt said, pointing.

"Yes!" Jackie exclaimed, running forward towards the podium, "There's the Encryptor chip! We're going to-"

"HACKER!" Digit suddenly yelled, pointing straight past the podium.

"Get the chip!" Hacker yelled to his minions while the two robots and the Cybersquad raced to grab the chip first. Once they were moving, Hacker turned around and pressed a concealed button on his wrist.

Half a cybersite away, the Grim Wreaker started up and took to the air...

Delete was first to reach the chip, and quickly snatched it out of Jackie's reach. But, being as clumsy as they were, Buzz slipped and fell into Delete, making Delete fumble and drop the chip.

It slid towards Hacker. Matt raced towards it, while Hacker scooped the chip up.

"Give it here Hacker!" Matt ordered, trying to nab the chip from Hacker, but Hacker held it out of Matt's reach.

"Who'll make me?" Hacker asked, holding Matt back with one hand.

"I will."

The chip was taken from Hacker's other hand. Surprised, Hacker turned to face the culprit. "Hey.." he began, but trailed off.

Standing behind him was Matt. Stunned, Hacker turned around again and saw another Matt standing in front of him. Completely baffled, he looked from one Matt to the other.

"There are two of you?" he asked, puzzled.

The two Matts took the opportunity to escape. One tripped Hacker, while both made a run for it.

"Hey, wait!" Hacker exclaimed, throwing off his robot minions as they tried to help him up, but whatever Hacker was going to do or say next was cut off by what happened next.

The Grim Wreaker suddenly flew by overhead on auto-pilot. It started to come back around to hover over where Buzz, Delete, and Hacker stood, but a weakened skyscraper sitting next to the stadium-like building the others were in stood in it's way. Not knowing any better, the ship rammed the building, but ricocheted off it, zooming away on the wrong course.

The building teetered, then toppled over, crashing onto the remains of the building, effectively dividing it into two. Coughing on the dust, and seeing that Hacker and his gang were trapped on the other side of the building, the Cybersquad quickly regrouped and fled back for the Cybercoop.

Hacker remained where he was until the Wreaker finally arrived overhead of him, dropping down a rope for him and his henchmen to climb. As he climbed, he watched the group run off.

"This isn't over..." he promised himself, continuing to climb.


	8. Lost

(Note: Chapter 7 has been renamed so not to clash with this chap's title.)

8.

Lost

The Cybersquad rushed into the Cybercoop, looking back as the Grim Wreaker zoom by overhead. Hacker watched from the Wreaker's control room at the mad dash the group below were making to escape.

Hacker laughed. "Just look at them." he said to Buzz and Delete, standing nearby, "They're terrified of me, and I haven't even done anything yet!"

"What can you do, Boss?" Buzz asked. "They've got the chip."

"So what?" Hacker asked. "If I had it, I would've eventually destroyed it, so might as well cut right to the end, right?"

"Uh, right Boss." Buzz said, not entirely sure if he understood.

"I'll..." Hacker paused, grinning wickedly, "...light their path."

"But Boss," Delete objected, slow to catch on, "Won't that help them get away?"

"Idiot!" Hacker exclaimed, pressing a button on the control panel.

The green dome on the underside of the Grim Wreaker slowly slid open, and a laser cannon slid out in it's place, aiming directly at the Cybercoop below.

The Cybersquad saw it, except for Digit.

"Let's see," he said, pulling out a checklist. "Time for the pre-flight check. Engines, check. Controls, check. Dome, check. Little blinking lights, check..."

"Go, check!" Inez yelled, watching the laser cannon start to charge.

She slapped the go button on the coop's control panel, and the little ship zoomed forward, just in time to miss getting laser kebobbed. Onward it zoomed as Digit hurriedly fumbled to take control of the steering wheel. The Wreaker moved to block the coop's path.

"Watch out!" Matt yelled, slapping another button, labeled "Mitosis Separator."

The coop split perfectly into two, former two smaller ships, identical to one big Cybercoop. One zoomed past the Wreaker going along it's left side, while the other zoomed past along the Wreaker's right side. Inez and Jackie were in one, the two Matts and Digit were in the other with the Encryptor chip.

Hacker quickly reoriented the Wreaker to follow the two small ships, taking bright pop shots at them both. The pilots of both ships did their best to avoid Hacker's shots, weaving in and around cyberjunk. It was hard to keep track of each other and where they were all heading. Getting lost several times, the two divided Cybercoops nearly ran into each other twice, and the Wreaker, being bigger and slower, nearly ran into passing debris several times.

After traveling several cybermeters, the two Matt's and Digit's division of the Cybercoop cleared the debris field, heading into open space. All three relaxed greatly.

"That was close." Matt said, breathing heavily.

"I hear ya." Future Matt agreed.

Digit didn't say anything, he just slumped over the controls in relief.

Their moment of victory wasn't last, for after a moment's pause, the Wreaker came out of the debris field behind them, and before they could react, took two shots with it's laser and both shots hit.

The little ship rocked, as Digit tried to coax the it to go again. "The engine was hit!" he shouted finally. "We can't go anywhere!"

"That's the least of our problems!" Future Matt said from the back of the ship, looking upward through the glass dome above them as a shadow spread across it.

The Wreaker came to a stop directly above them. Then, a set of doors on the Wreaker's underbelly opened and a metal claw was extended out of it. The claw pierced the glass dome, sending shards of glass raining down on the only occupants of the ship, then stabbed at the control panel where Matt had set the Encryptor chip down. Picking the chip and part of the control panel up, the claw started to retract back into the Grim Wreaker.

Matt tried to pry the chip from the claw's grasp, but a mere flick from it sent Matt sprawling into the floor. Future Matt lunged for it, and Digit took to the air, and was encircling the claw, looking for a way to stop the claw, however the Wreaker's laser was brought around and fired into the Cybercoop division, blasting another hole in the glass dome and in the floor, as well as knocking Future Matt of the claw, and sending Digit reeling out of control, smashing through the glass dome.

He almost tumbled out into Cyberspace altogether, but managed to stab his metal beak into the hull of the Cybercoop, stopping his fall.

Unstopped now, the claw retracted fully into the Grim Wreaker, then the Wreaker shot forward, leaving the Cybercoop in a trail of dust, caught spinning in the Wreaker's slipstream for a moment.

The Cybercoop continued to tumble aimlessly through Cyberspace for several minutes until Inez and Jackie found them in the other Cybercoop divison. They rejoined with the other division, melding the Cybercoop back to it's full size.

Both Matts had been in the process of yanking Digit out of the ship's hull when the ship rejoined and now laid sprawled in the middle of the floor.

Jackie eyed the damage that had been inflicted upon the left side of the Cybercoop. "What happened?" she asked.

"Hacker attacked us and managed to steal the chip." one Matt explained.

Inez helped him up. "Which Matt are you again?" she asked innocently.

"The Matt NOT from the future." Matt said, annoyed.

"Sorry." Inez said. "You're both equally dirty now, so I can't tell you apart anymore."

"That's not the problem though." Digit interrupted. "The problem is that Hacker's got the Encryptor chip!"

"And he'll only destroy it in the end." Future Matt said, giving his double a look. Matt nodded in secret undrstanding.

"We need to tell Mother B." Jackie said, setting a course for Control Central.

The Cybercoop sputtered along, all but crippled...


	9. Deja Vu

9.

Deja Vu

"You tried you're best." Motherboard assured the group. "Don't blame this upon yourselves."

They were all back at Control Central now, and had just finished telling Motherboard what had happened.

"We were so close, though, Mother B." Jackie moaned, "We nearly had Hacker's campaign of chaos ended right there and then."

"It's not like we haven't had this happen before, though." Matt pointed out. "And we always pulled through in the end."

"Besides, this isn't the end of it anyway." Future Matt pointed out. "Hacker has too much pride, he won't leave the issue alone without rubbing it in our faces one last time."

"Not only that, but Hacker is going to use his possession of the Encryptor chip as bait to get what he wants." Digit added.

"Exactly." Inez agreed. "All we have to do is wait for Hacker to make his next move."

"The only question is, when?" Jackie asked.

The time traveler had his watch out. "In about five seconds." he said. "Four...three...two...one...now."

Nothing happened. The Cybersquad looked at one another.

"Anytime now." Future Matt assured them.

A long pause followed.

"Just because you're from the future doesn't mean you know exactly when everything is going to happen." Inez said, annoyed.

"Just wait." Future Matt said, "Hacker's going to contact us any mome-"

"Hacker is sending a transmission." Motherboard suddenly reported. "I'm putting him up on my screen."

As the supercomputer's screen went into a period of static, Future Matt glanced over at Inez. "Told ya." he teased.

"Show off." Inez muttered under her breath.

Hacker's face suddenly appeared on Motherboard's screen. He grinned. "Weeping from your loss, are we?" he taunted.

"Not yet Hacker." Matt said defiantly, "There's still hope."

"There should be, because I'm willing to make a proposal." Hacker replied.

"What is it?" Inez asked.

"I will trade over the Encryptor chip, if..." Hacker explained, placing an emphasis on the if, "..if I get something in return."

"Like what?" Jackie asked.

"Oh, nothing much, just the access key to everything in Cyberspace." Hacker said like it was the least important thing in the world.

"In your dreams, Hacker." Digit said.

"If you don't give me the access key, I WILL dispose of the Encryptor chip." Hacker said. "That should be reason enough to weep, I imagine."

"You haven't done it yet, so don't get your hopes up, Hacker." Matt said.

"Oh, of course I haven't yet." Hacker said. "In fact, I've got the chip right here." he held it up for them to see. "But don't think I won't. I have no use for this hunk of junk. So, if you don't agree to my terms in an hour or so, say bye-bye to the Encryptor chip." he chuckled.

The Cybersquad looked at one another. They knew they had no choice at this point if they wanted to get rid of Motherboard's virus. "Alright, Hacker, we're willing to agree to your terms." Inez said.

"That's more like it!" Hacker roared happily. "We'll do the trade at Black Hole 27, the one out by Sensible Flats. That way, if there's any funny business, I can end the deal by quickly disposing of the Encryptor chip."

Jackie, Inez, and Digit looked hesitant to that, while Matt looked suddenly ill, which was nothing to the way the time traveler looked.

"Hacker, we'll pick the meeting place." Future Matt addressed Hacker, stepping forward.

Hacker noticed him for the first time. "Ah, there's the double." he said, staring at Future Matt. "Listen, you, I don't know how you got here or where you came from, but your little double trick only worked once, and it won't work again. Let's just make that clear."

He focused attention onto the whole group now. "As for the location, either I get to pick it, or there is no deal."

The Cybersquad held a silent discussion over the issue. Again, there was only one solution.

"We accept your proposal, Hacker." Inez announced. "We'll meet you at the Black Hole in a half-hour."

"Excellent, I'll see you all there." Hacker said, "And remember, no funny business."

The transmission ended, and Motherboard's face reappeared on the screen. She looked grim.

The time traveler stood where he was, wobbling slightly. Matt stood beside him just in case he fell.

"You all right?" he asked.

"It's happening again." Future Matt answered simply, stunned. "It's like deja vu, only it's real. Very real." He gulped. "And if we aren't careful, all we have done today will be for nothing..."


	10. The Black Hole

This chapter is extra long, but considering that the enitre story has been building up to this point, it's understandable.

I had considered cut this chapter in half right at the most intense moment and make you guys wait until I posted the rest in the next chapter, but didn't. I was feeling generous. :)

10.

The Black Hole

"Remember, we can't trust Hacker to play fair." Future Matt said to the others as the Cybercoop, fully repaired, zoomed towards Hacker's designated meeting place. "With or without the Encryptor chip and the access key to Cyberspace, we're still in Hacker's way, and he's going to be looking for a way to get rid of us."

"So in short, be on our best guard." Inez guessed.

"Pretty much." Future Matt agreed. "I have ideas what Hacker might attempt to do, but I can't be for sure."

The others nodded, and returned to what they were doing. Matt pulled his double aside.

"Why don't you tell them what you told me?" he asked quietly, so the others wouldn't hear.

"I...just can't. Not now." Future Matt pointed out. "Besides, who's to say things will play out exactly as they did before? My presence might change all that."

"Then again, it might not." Matt pointed out. "Don't you think it wise that telling them the whole story would only give them that much more heads up?"

"Oh sure, I'll just be the bringing of doom." the time traveler said sarcastically. "Think about it. 'Hey Inez, guess what? If you aren't careful, you're going to _die_ today!' Is that something _you'd _want to hear, especially only moments before it could happen?"

"Well, technically, it's not death per say." Matt pointed out. "She'd just be falling down a black vortex forever with no hope of escape."

"The end result is the same!" Future Matt retorted. "C'mon Matt, you know these guys just as well as I do. If we tell them, Jackie and Digit would probably only panic, and Inez would not only panic, but probably _faint_ at the same time!"

Matt thought that through for a moment. "I guess you're right." he admitted reluctantly. "But if all of us do come out of this alive, they need to know then. If you won't tell them, I will."

"Agreed." the time traveler stated. "And here's hoping."

They arrived at the Black Hole in question. Hacker waited with Buzz and Delete on the platform sitting directly in front of the swirling mass of energy, and the Grim Wreaker hovered over it all, casting a shadow. Digit, who was piloting, brought the Cybercoop to land at the opposite end of the platform from Hacker.

"We're here, Hacker." Matt announced as he and the Cybersquad exited the Cybercoop.

"Welcome kiddies." Hacker said in a taunting voice. "Don't come to close now. You wouldn't want the big bad Black Hole to suck up your precious Encryptor chip, do you?"

Future Matt made a discreet gulp as Hacker snapped his fingers. Already this incident was too similar for his liking. When Hacker snapped, Buzz and Delete handed Hacker a box. The villain opened it, and pulled the object within out. The Cybersquad already knew what it would be. Hacker dangled the Encryptor chip dangerously close to the threshold of the swirling mass of dark energy.

"Don't do it, Hacker!" Jackie shouted. "We've got what you want."

Hacker turned to her and grinned. "The access card to all of Cyberspace?" he asked, devilishly.

The Cybersquad and Future Matt all nodded, ready to act if something should go wrong.

Hacker eyed them for several moments. "Show me." he ordered.

Digit walked forward, stopping in the middle of the platform. In his wings he carried wooden box, polished so it shone brightly and prettily.

The beauty was wasted on Hacker, he quickly motioned Buzz and Delete to go over to take the box. He was obviously expecting a trap, and wasn't going to risk getting caught in it. Digit hesitantly handed the box to Hacker's robotic henchmen. Delete held the box while Buzz opened it and peered inside.

"Is it real?" Hacker demanded, striding over.

Without waiting for an answer, he reached into the box, and pulled out the access key, small enough to fit in Hacker's palm, and yet opened up one of the biggest window of opportunities that Hacker had ever come across. He studied the circuitry embedded in the key, gleaming in the dim light.

"Everything seems to be in order." he said, happily. "No flaws in this key, and it's definitely real."

"We've held up our end of the bargain, Hacker," Inez said, as she and the others marched up to join Digit, "Now hold up your end. Give us the Encryptor chip."

Future Matt could see that she was eyeing Buzz out of the corner of her eye and he was too. Buzz was slipping away from the group and was heading back towards to the Black Hole.

Just like last time.

Hacker grinned at them wickedly for a few moments. "I don't think so." he said, turning around, taking both the key and the Encryptor chip with him, "Now Buzz."

"Look out!" Inez and Future Matt suddenly shouted, as Buzz pulled a concealed lever.

The floor immediately under the Cybersquad opened up leading nowhere expect out into the depths of Cyberspace. Inez and the time traveler jointly leap to one side, shoving Matt out of the way at the same time. They both skidded onto solid ground, skidding towards the Black Hole where Hacker and his gang stood. Jackie twisted around as the floor vanished from under her and managed to grab a portion of solid floor behind her, stopping her fall. Digit threw the box that had held the access key to one side and took to the air, twirling his tail feathers like a helicopter.

Hacker ran for the Black Hole, ready to throw the Encryptor chip into it. Digit gave a mad yell while Future Matt watched with dread and zoomed forward, grabbing the edge of Hacker's cape and tugging. The cybervillan's feet slipped out from under him and toppled over backwards, the Encryptor chip flying out of his hands. Buzz and Delete both ran to grab it.

"One, two, three." Future Matt muttered under his breath, and at three, the two bots slammed into each other and missed the chip. It toppled to the ground.

Future Matt made an attempt to grab it, but Hacker yanked Digit off his cape and shoved the time traveler to one side. Grabbing the chip, he leaned back and threw it towards the Black Hole.

"NO!" Both Matts yelled, reacting quickly, all to aware what was happening.

In slow motion, the chip zoomed over Inez's head. She turned and began running after it, unaware what was happening. The two Matts followed Inez, running as fast as they could. The Encryptor chip continued sailing, tumbling into the Black Hole. Inez, just like last time, did not hesitate to dive after it.

Future Matt gave a yell and leapt the remaining distance between him and Inez to grab Inez's feet...

...and succeeded.

Both toppling to the floor, Matt jumped over the pair, and while using Inez's arm as a handle, leapt into the Black Hole after the chip. He and the chip tumbled forward for a tense moment, but then Matt was jerked to a halt as his grasp on Inez's arm held true. The chip continued to sail onward, and for one dreadful moment, the time traveler thought it was gone, but Matt's momentum swung him around back towards solid in the ground, and in the process, he grabbed the chip, pulling it to safety as well.

Hacker came running towards the two Matts and Inez, with the idea of pushing all three into the Black Hole, but when Matt's feet hit solid ground again, he stumbled forward and rammed into Hacker, who, likewise, threw the access key in his hand upward and stumbled backwards and slipped off the edge of the platform, grabbing the lip of the edge. Buzz and Delete ran forward to pull their boss back onto the platform.

Jackie, trapped on the other side of the gap in the floor, away from the action, saw that the key was sailing in her direction. She began running to stay underneath it, but instantly saw that the key was tumbling over the edge of the platform. Stretching her hand out over the railing guarding the platform edge, Jackie caught the key just before it tumbled out into Cyberspace.

"Digit!" Future Matt yelled, escorting his double and Inez to the gap's edge, "Time to go!"

Digit, who had been sitting near the edge of the gap, trying to straighten his bent beak, forgot his beak and took to the air. He sailed towards the Black Hole at first, then turned back around to sail over the trio's heads.

As he flew over, the time traveler reached out and grabbed hold of Digit's feet. Inez and the other Matt grabbed hold of Future Matt's legs. With Digit straining to remain airborne, all four cruised over the gap to Jackie's side. Then Inez let go and ran aboard the Cybercoop, Matt let go and ran aboard their ship, Future Matt let go and ran aboard the ship, Digit remained in the air and flew aboard, and Jackie brought up the rear, closing the Cybercoop's hatch on her way.

The Cybercoop gave a lurch and zoomed away, carrying a celebrating Cybersquad and leaving a very dismayed Hacker and gang behind...


	11. Aftermath

I'm really happy with this chapter, so much so, I was half tempted to end the story right at the sentence "Marbles obliged.", but I wanted to do the bit with the Encryptor chip not working like expected, but working none the less, and plus, if this was the last chapter, nobody would find out what happened to Future Matt, so expect at least one more chapter disucussing the time traveler's fate.

But yeah, enjoy the chapt. :)

11.

Aftermath

"You mean I was that close to death and I didn't even know it?" Inez asked amazed, wobbling on her feet. "I think I need to sit down..."

And she did.

The Cybersquad was just arriving back at Control Central again with the Encryptor chip and the access key. Both Matts had decided to take the time during the trip back to tell the other three what had happened in Future Matt's time.

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Jackie asked, bewildered, "Didn't you think we could handle it?"

"Yeah!" Digit agreed from the pilot's seat.

"I knew you'd all panic!" the time traveler exclaimed. "Just like you are now! I thought that wouldn't cause anything but trouble!"

"Maybe," Jackie admitted sternly, "But it would have let us know what Hacker's trap was, and make us look out for it! Had we known that, we could have avoided a whole lot of the danger!"

"I told you we should have told them beforehand." Matt said to his double.

"It doesn't matter now!" the time traveler exclaimed. "It worked, we're all safe, we got what we wanted, it's in the past now!"

"A funny thing for a time traveler to say." Inez noted wearily.

The Cybersquad looked at one another for a few moments, then laughed, their joy at having succeeded in getting the Encryptor chip at last refusing to be held down.

The rest of the trip was done in peace. Upon arriving back at Control Central, they discovered Motherboard, and Dr. Marbles, who had been elsewhere during all of this, waiting for them.

"Oh, Dr. Marbles." Inez said, having recovered from her shock earlier, held her hands out to point at Future Matt "This is..."

"I already know Inez." Dr. Marbles interrupted, "Motherboard has already told me the story." he began walking around Future Matt, examining him over. "Although, seeing it is quite different from being told it." he admitted.

"Dr. Marbles," Digit said, stepping in front of Dr. Marbles, "The Encryptor chip!"

He held it out for Dr. Marbles to take. Marbles looked it over. "I'll say, it is the real thing. I can hardly believe it."

"Just to be safe though, has any tampering been done to it?" Matt asked cautiously.

"Good call, Matt." Motherboard said, "I have scanned it, and it is intact and unaltered."

"Well, I suppose it's time I installed the chip now," Dr. Marbles announced, waking over the Mother B's control panel. "Putting it where it belongs at long last."

He opened the slot where the chip belonged, and was ready to insert the chip.

"I guess this is it, then." Digit said. "The end of the mission."

"The end of Hacker's reign of chaos." Inez said.

"Or just about." Future Matt added. "He's just not going to fade out into the night."

"Still, this is pretty much it for him." Jackie said. "Mother B's virus was the only thing keeping him as a threat."

"Insert the chip, Dr. Marbles." Matt said.

Marbles obliged.

At first nothing seemed to happen, but the low wine from Motherboard's systems straining to remain active, suddenly faded out and Motherboard's expression brightened greatly.

"I'm already feeling better." she said happily.

The others grinned happily. Then Marbles noted something.

"The chip didn't get rid of the virus, however." he said, reading a display. "It's slowly working at getting rid of it, but it's going to take awhile before the virus is fully eliminated."

"How long, Dr. Marbles?" Inez asked.

"It's definitely not something that's going to happen overnight." Marbles answered. "But in time, it will work fully."

"Was that supposed to happen, Doc?" Digit asked.

"No, it wasn't," Marbles answered thoughtfully, "But considering all that the chip's been through, we really shouldn't be surprised."

"Still, it's a time to celebrate." Matt said.

"That gives me an idea." Motherboard suddenly said. "Dr. Marbles, how about we make today a cyberwide holiday to celebrate this momentous occasion?"

Again, Dr. Marbles obliged.


	12. Goodbye and Farewell

Here it is, the last chapter. Not too great, I didn't want it to seem short, so I added alot of extra stuff to lengthen it out, bt still, the chapt does it's job.

12.

Goodbye and Farewell

It was a time to celebrate, and Cyberspace took full advantage of it, even if it was short notice. And by the end of the day, the story in short of what had happened had spread. And even though Cyberspace wasn't home free yet, they were going to be, and now a new hope spread over it like never before.

However, there was one matter left to attend to.

"Well, I guess my job here is done." Future Matt announced once the festivities at Control Central had ended.

"So, where are you going to go now?" Inez asked, curious. "Back to the future?" she paused for a moment. "I can't believe I just said that." she said dismayed.

"No, I don't think I can go back to the future now." the time traveler said.

"Why not?" Digit asked. "Why can't you just do the opposite of what you did to get here in the first place? Just add a heat-tant, thing."

"We can't." Marbles interrupted. "The only chemical that would work would be Lynitrogen, and adding it to a portal would be even more dangerous than adding Kryoxide to a portal."

"So I guess I'm stranded here." Future Matt ended. "So I'll have to find some place to stay right here in Cyberspace."

"You could stay here in Control Central." Jackie suggested.

"Can't, that would put too much at risk." the time traveler stated. "Hacker never did figure out just who I am and how I got here, and by staying here, we risk him figuring that out."

"So if you can't stay here, where will you go?" Matt asked.

"Well, I suppose I could go to cybersite Mount Olympus to live." Future Matt guessed. "Always did want to live in ancient Greece. Can you give me a lift there, Motherboard?"

Motherboard nodded, and a moment later, a swirling pink portal formed.

"So I guess it's goodbye now." Future Matt said, looking into the portal. He turned to Jackie. "Bye Jax."

"Goodbye, then." Jackie said. "Thanks for you're help."

"Sure thing." Future Matt said, then turned to Digit.

"Do you have to go?" Digit asked. "I was just getting used to you being here."

"Sorry Didge, can't be here forever." the time traveler said, then patted Digit on the head. "Bye, you tin turkey."

Future Matt turned to Inez.

"Hey, uh, thanks for, well, saving my life." Inez said, nervously

"I'm glad I could make a difference." Future Matt answered. "Of course, Matt helped, so partial credit goes to him."

"Which is you." Inez pointed out good-humorly.

"Don't confuse me." Future Matt requested. He turned to his double. "Be seeing you, friend." He said, holding out his hand for Matt to shake.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Matt asked. "We could work something out, and you could stay and be apart of the Cybersquad."

"I think one Matt's enough for this group." Future Matt pointed out. "Besides, the only other course of action for me is the return to the Real World, and I don't think our mom would be too thrilled when she suddenly discovered that she had twins."

Grinning, Future Matt walked up to the portal. He stopped just before crossing the threshold, turning back around to the group behind him.

"Farewell everyone." he said. "But remember, Cyberspace is only so big. We'll all meet up with one another again, I'm sure."

And with that last phrase, he walked through the portal and was gone from sight.

* * *

And that's it. Of course, Future Matt is right, Cyberspace is only so big, and seeing that I have a habit of not being able to leave a good idea along, this probably isn't the end of the time traveler.

That said, time for a little self advertising. I have another Cyberchase story in the works, so be on the look out for it. :)


End file.
